First aid bandage



g- 31, 1954 R. LARNEY 2,687,722

FIRST AID BANDAGE Filed Dec. 1'7. 1951 Ruth Lame) INVENTOR.

9 BY MU AW Patented Aug. 31, 1954 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFIC 2,687,722 FIRST AID BANDAGE Ruth Larney, Watertown, NQY. ApplicationDecember 17, 1951, Serial No. 262,045 5 Claims. (01. 128-456) fThis invention relates to an improved prefabricated ready-to-use first aid bandage which is especially designed to afford users more extensive usefulness due to the incorporation therein of structural features and advantages not available in adhesive tape bandages offered for use by others engaged in this line of endeavor.

As the prior art first aid bandages the instant bandage is characterized by a sterile gauze pad attached to the central portion of a length of moisture-proof adhesive tape with the pad and adhesive media covered and thus protected with a peelable piece of crinoline cloth. By contrast, however, the pad is distinct by reason of the fact that the lengthwise edge portions of the pad are spaced inwardly fromthe parallel adjacent edge portions of the tape and the crinoline cloth covering, this being desirable in that the pad is thus wholly pocketed by the crinoline cloth covering, whereby it is amply jacketed and maintained, until brought into use, in a reliably sanitary condition. And, by the same token, after the crinoline. cloth covering is peeled off the portions of the adhesive flanking the lengthwise edge portions of the pad are then available to adhere to the skin of the user with the result that the medicated pad is sealed in place completely around all four marginal edges and is therefore unexposed and is less likely to succumb to contamination, such as occurs when the edges of the pad are .fiush and coincide with the coacting edges of the tape.

Another object of this invention is to bring into being a first aid bandage of superiority wherein the attachable end portions of the tape do not wrinkle and rumple, as in the case with wide tape, because of the fact that the end portions herein employed are in the form of independent attaching members or strips, the latter sufliciently narrow that they lend themselves to easy encirclement or equivalent application, whereby to thus afford more readily applicable facilities capable of conforming with requisite nicety to the portion of the anatomy to which they must be attached.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention the pad-equipped moisture-proof tape is covered on its adhesive side with the aforementioned strip or piece of crinoline cloth and the end portions of both tape and cloth on both sides of the centered pad are centrally and longitudinally slitted with the inward ends of the respective slits terminating in spaced relation fromthe pad. Thus split, said end portions providelndependent pairs. of applicating and attaching members after, of course, the crinoline cloth is peeled off. With this arrangement the independent strips or members adapt themselves to varying places of anchorage on the person in that the members at one end could be spread apart to straddlea part such as a thumb or finger and the members at the other end could be overlapped to readily narrow this end of the bandage to conformingly fit the situation.

Then, too, novelty is predicated on having the attaching members at one end of the band, at least, provided with independent small crinoline cloth finger tabs, the latter underlying unattached portions of the main crinoline cloth strips and projecting outwardly beyond the corresponding ends of the latter to facilitate safe handling especially while peeling the main strips from the coacting adhesive surfaces of the corresponding tape strips or members.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein like numerals are employedto designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure l is an elevational view observing what is herein referred to as the face or obverse side of the bandage, the same constructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention:

Figure 2 is a perspective view, with the crinoline covering means peeled off and giving an example of how the free end portions of the attaching members of the tape may be, if desired, overlapped to conform with a given situation of attachment;

Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 3--3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view' showing two of the especially constructed attaching members and also showing the method of uncovering the featured finger tabs.

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals and lead lines the component called the adhesive tape is denoted by the numeral 6 and is of appropriate length and of general rectangular form as is customary in first aid bandage constructions. The outer or reverse surface is smooth, non-porous, non-tacky and of an appropriate surface finish to render it substantially moisture-proof, said surface denoted by the numeral 8. The complete obverse or inward surface is coated with suitable normally tacky adhesive media of a pressure responsive and retaining type. The adhesive coating is denoted by the numerals II) in Figures 2 and 4. The gauze pad, the usual sterile kind, is approximately rectangular and is denoted by the numeral I2 and is of suitable absorbent material. The features so far introduced are, of course, old and well known and disclosed in numerous prior patents. It is to be noted in Figures 1 to 3 that the longitudinal edge portions 14 and N5 of the pad are spaced inwardly in parallelism in respect to the adjacent imperforate longitudinal edgeportions I8 and 20 of the tape. Thus, adhesive media is accessibly located between the edges it and i8 and i6 and 20, as is obvious from Figures 1 and 3. In other words, the edges l4 and It terminate in spaced inwardly disposed positions to permit the adhesive coated imperiorate edge portions of the tape on both sides of the edges to be used in adhering to the skin so that when the pad is applied all four marginal edges are bound in and the pad is rendered intact and more effective in that it is thus isolated and is less likely to become soiled or contaminated from extraneous matter. The protective or crinoline cloth covering, also a commonly known expedient, is denoted by the numeral 22 and is commensurate in length with the over-all length of the tape; Central longitudinally extending slits 24 and 26 divide the bandage into components which may be conveniently identified as pairs of attaching members or strips, one pair to the right and the other pair to the left of the pad l2 in Figure l. The strips on the left are denoted by the numerals 28 and 30 and those on the right by the numerals 32 and 34 in Figure 1. It is to be noted that the slits terminate at their inward ends in spaced relation from the adjacent marginal edges of the pad I2. The strips, however, range primarily from the pad area to the free end portions so that they are useful as satisfactory facilities for attachment purposes, whether they encircle the part or simply encompass it in some other fashion.

When the crinoline protective covering or cloth 22 is stripped or peeled off, the bandage is used like any other bandage on the market. The advantage, however, is that the members 28 and 34 may be either spread apart and applied in V- shaped form or they may be brought together and overlapped in contracted form as shown in Figure 2, whereby to provide satisfactory ways and means of conformably attaching the bandage to the affected wound, cut, bruise or the like.

It is to be noted from Figure 4 that the righthand end portions of the crinoline cloth strip members 36 and 38 are shown unattached, that is, the ends it- 1D. Normally, as shown in Figure 1, these end portions overlap the inner attached end portions of crinoline cloth finger tabs 42-42 which have their end portions 44-44 extending beyond the ends of the tape portion. This enables the user to grip the tabs and to hold the same steady while ripping off the crinoline cloth strips 35 and 33, in an obvious manner.

This bandage is designed to be used in industry and in the home as a first aid dressing, to wit:

1. To exclude oil, dirt or other foreign materal from a wound.

2. To enable the bandage to conform to body contours such as finger, elbow or knee joints, or, to rounded parts, as cushions of fingers.

3. To save time in that an industrial nurse or foreman can quickly bandage the cleansed wound.

4. To eliminate the wick action which gauze touching outside edge would have. At no place is pad exposed.

5. To promote comfort to users, to aid in absorbing exudate from wound, and cushion the wound.

6. To largely eliminate the need for expensive coating material, the so-called oil dressings.

7. To fulfill the respective requirements of manufacturers and general needs of users alike.

8. As is obvious, the fact that the slitted strip members may be conveniently arranged to straddle a thumb or a finger, the latter are left free and unrestrained for use.

9. Finally, there are no jutting or loose-ends to catch in machine parts and to set the wearer up for further injuries.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawing will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty suflicient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A prefabricated ready-to-use first aid bandage for dressing cuts, wounds, bruises and the like comprising a length of moisture-proof tape having its obverse surface coated with pressure responsive adhesive media and its reverse surface non-tacky and substantially non-porous, a rectangular pad of sterile gauze affixed to the median portion and said obverse surface by way of said adhesive media, said pad having its entire longitudinal edge portions spaced inwardly from the corresponding lengthwise edge portions of said tape, the latter edge portions being imperiorate, and a continuous strip of crinoline cloth detachably connected to and completely covering said pad and said obverse surface, that portion of said cloth spanning said pad being free of direct connection with said pad, the longitudinal edge portions of said cloth extending beyond the longitudinal edge portions of said padand being fastened to said tape by the cooperating portions of said adhesive media, whereby said pad is wholly jacketed and effectually encased by said cloth and is thus protected until brought into use, at least one end portion of the tape on one side of said pad having a centrally disposed longitudinal slit defining. a pair of independent attaching strips, the inward end portions of said strips terminating short of said one side of said pad, said attaching strips each being of a width equal to one half the width ofsaid tape and of the same width from one end to the other.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein one end portion of said crinoline cloth corresponding to said one end portion of said tape also has an aligned central longitudinal slit defining a pair of complemental protective strips corresponding to and cooperating with saidattaching strips.

' 3. The structure defined in claim 2 wherein the other end portions of said tape and crinoline cloth, respectively, are provided with centrally disposed lengthwise slits aligned with each other and providing additional selectively usable normally covered anatomy encircling and attaching 4. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein the outer end portions of the obverse surfaces of two of said attaching strips are provided with relatively small, readily detachable tabs of crinoline cloth and the adjacent outer ends of the corresponding crinoline strips are free of direct connection with said tabs, the outer ends of the tabs projecting beyond the complemental free ends of said last-named crinoline strips.

5. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein one end, portion of the tape and corresponding end portion of said crinoline cloth are centrally slitted in a lengthwise direction to provide independent anatomy accommodating and attaching strips, the crinoline cloth adjacent to the free outer ends of the tape portions of the members being unattached, and crinoline finger tabs 7 attached to the free outer ends of said tape portions and underlying the unattached ends of the crinoline portions of said members, said strips each being of uniform width from end to end and the Width of each strip being equal to one half the width of the tape.

References Cited in the file of this patent Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Taylor Mar. 14, 1911 Eustis et a1. Jan. 28, 1936 Gale, Jr Sept. 15, 1936 Sebastian Nov. 18, 1947 Morgan Oct. 11, 1949 Barton Feb. 24, 1953 Stanton July 21,1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland Nov. 12, 1897 

